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Mayor Allan M. Dorman, Village of Islandia, says the New York State Supreme Court was right to uphold an agreement to let Suffolk County Sheriff’s Deputies patrol the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway. He says this will mean the ticket revenues for moving violations committed on the LIE between Exits 56 and 58 can go back to the village.

On February 27, State Supreme Court Judge Peter Mayer upheld an agreement between the sheriff’s deputies and then-Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy in 2011. In 2008, Mr. Levy replaced Suffolk County police highway patrols with deputies from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office as a cost-saving measure. Just before leaving office three years ago, he extended the agreement with the deputies through 2017.

In 2012, the current county executive, Steve Bellone, made a new agreement with the SCPD, allowing them to patrol the LIE and Sunrise Highway. The following year, the county established the Traffic Violations Bureau, in which all fines paid for traffic infractions — including those within the village’s jurisdiction — would go directly to the TVB instead. In December 2013, Mayor Dorman filed a $1 million lawsuit against the county, claiming the officers had issued fewer tickets, resulting in a loss of ticket revenue for the village. In order to plug the budget deficit, Mayor Dorman said, he was forced to raise taxes on the village.

“I am extremely pleased with the court’s decision to uphold the agreement to allow the sheriff’s deputies to return to patrol the LIE, especially in the sector which lies within the village’s jurisdiction,” Mayor Dorman said. “I give credit to Sheriff Vincent DeMarco for stepping up to the plate. We welcome the concern his office has for safety on the highways. Since the current county executive removed the deputies from the highway patrols, we expressed a huge concern.”